Thursday, October 30, 2014

Pro – Reclaiming Abortion Rights

By Kathe Pollitt

A review

At a
time when abortion rights are under severe attack, Kathe Pollitt has written an
important book that takes up many of the most relevant issues surrounding the
Pro-Choice movement.In her book,
Pollitt exposes the myths used by the anti-abortionists.She demonstrates how these forces are
primarily aimed at taking away any rights women have gained over the years.

One
of the themes of this book can be seen in following passage:

“To
force girls and women to undergo all this (complications associated with
pregnancy and giving birth to a child) against their will is to annihilate
their humanity.”

Pollitt
also argues that”

“Legalizing
abortion didn’t just save women from death and injury and fear of arrest, it
didn’t just make it possible for women to commit to education and work and free
themselves from shotgun marriages and too many kids.It changed how women saw themselves: as
mothers by choice, not fate.”

While
the anti-abortionists argue that they are “pro-life,” Pollitt gives us the
facts of how abortion related deaths declined significantly after this
procedure became legal.“Deaths from
legal abortion declined between 1973 and 1985 (from 3.3 deaths to 0.4 per
100,000 procedures.)”

The
anti-abortionists argue that fetuses should have all the rights as human
beings.Pollitt answers this argument
with the following statement:

“Even
if we all decided to define personhood to include fertilized eggs and embryos
and fetuses, they would not have the right to use a woman’s body against her
will and at whatever cost to herself.”

If
fetuses are viewed as people the 20% of all pregnancies that end in
miscarriages might also be viewed as acts of murder.Fertility clinics that routinely destroy embryos
would also be viewed as murderers.

If
you feel that these views are farfetched, consider the 1991 Supreme Court
decision of Automobile Workers v. Johnson
Controls.This decision ruled that
Johnson Controls could not bar fertile
women from jobs because these jobs might cause potential birth
defects.In other words, women are
fertile for about 30 years.Employers
have argued that during these years they should be prevented from many
occupations because they might become
pregnant.Even the Supreme Court ruled
against Johnson Controls, but this is the kind of madness corporations are
willing to inflict on the lives of women.

One
would think that the anti-abortionists would favor sex education as well as
full access to birth control.Women who
routinely use birth control only account for about five percent of all
abortions.However, this isn’t the
case.In several states government funds
that were once used for family planning, now go to centers that counsel women
against abortion.

In
fact some of the same people who argue against abortion also argue against
assistance to indigent mothers who have children.This brings us to an issue anti-abortionists
refuse to talk about.

Before
abortion became legal women had abortions and affluent women had safe
abortions.Making abortion legal made it
possible for working class women to have safe abortions.

Pollitt
supports this argument:

“The
ability to determine the timing and number of children undergirds the modern
ideal of egalitarian, intimate marriages based on love, companionship, and
mutual sexual delight.”

Abortions in China

In
her book Pollitt neglects to mention abortions in China.Clearly this is not a focus of her book, but
it is an issue people who favor choice might want to be aware of.In China families are forced to have only one
child.If a family is unwilling to be
limited to one child, abortions are forced on women.Affluent women can avoid this law by paying a
fine of thousands of dollars.According
to my calculations, this state of affairs means that there are twice the number
of abortions per capita in China as the United States.

Clearly
those who favor choice are opposed to forced abortions.Kathe Pollitt does give the facts showing
that the number of children women have goes down when they have opportunities
in education and employment.

Abortion and The New Jim Crow

Michelle
Alexander wrote a book titled: The New
Jim Crow – Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.This book argues that the old system of
Jim Crow legalized discrimination has been replaced with a system where Black
people are grossly over-represented in the prison system of this country.How is the theme of this book relevant to the
issue of abortion?

The
point is that after Jim Crow became illegal, the forces that have power in this
country worked to reverse this important gain.A similar course of events occurred when abortion became legal.Powerful forces began to reverse this
gain.What does this say about the
government in this country?

Clearly
a representative government would work to make life easier for those who have
few resources.However, the government
in this country has consistently worked to reverse gains made by women and
Blacks.

Kathe
Pollitt gives the facts showing how the democrats have worked to reverse the
gains made because of the legalization of abortion.However, she also implies that the democrats
might be a bit better than the republicans on this issue.

Pollitt
is correct in arguing that the anti-abortionists are primarily opposed to the
rights of women.The question is
why?

We
live in a capitalist system where the number one priority is profits.When capitalists can pay women and Black
people less, this means they can have more in profits.As their system goes into decline, as it is
today, they are even more driven to roll back on everyone’s wages and benefits.

This
all means that we need a workers government where the central priority is that
human needs are more important than profits.This government would also make it a central priority to reverse the
discrimination against women and Blacks.There is no more important issue than giving women the right to decide
if and when they are to become mothers.

About Me

I am the author of the novel "Looking Back From 2101." My novel imagines a future world where poverty and discrimination are no longer a part of the human condition. My blog contains articles and poems that I've written over the years. Many of my poems are biographies of historical figures who I have found to be inspiring.